Everyone has a role in preventing suicide

About 50 people from various local organizations attended today’s suicide prevention program, hosted by Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Headquarters Counseling Center and Kansas Youth Suicide Prevention.

The event — Everyone Plays a Role in Suicide Prevention: Turning Strategy into Action — was part of a national discussion about suicide prevention. The local program included a panel discussion with Marcia Epstein, Headquarters Counseling Center director; Chris Maxwell, Kansas Youth Suicide Prevention resource center coordinator; Juliet Nelson, Bert Nash intensive outpatient program and dialectical behavior therapy team leader; and Sherry Demarest, Bert Nash Access Center team leader.

“This is a local issue,” Epstein said. “It’s not just something that happens to other people.”